It’s a stormy day here on the coast. The power and WiFi have been blinking off all morning, as I suspect they will throughout the day. I have towels underneath the doors and windows to soak up the rain that’s blowing in. There will be a lot of laundry to do once this storm moves out.

I made a new friend this week. His name is Pablo, and he helps with maintenance here at the building. We exchanged numbers on WhatsApp in case I needed anything while I’m here, and we’ve attempted to converse via messaging. He speaks no English, so his messages are always in español. I try to respond in Spanish with the help of Google Translate. We’ve discussed where we’re from, our families, and what I like about Mexico. I was a little nervous about giving a man I barely know so much personal information while I’m a woman traveling alone. But I haven’t gotten any creepy vibes from him. Pablo asked what Mexican foods I like and if I like tamales. I said that I’d never tried one. A couple days later, he told me he’d brought some tamales to work with him if I’d like to try them. I said sure, and he knocked on my door. He handed me a plastic grocery sack that was tied up into a bundle and said I only needed to heat them up. Inside the sack were four tamales wrapped in banana leaves.  They were cold, but smelled wonderful. Later that day, he told me that his mother in Veracruz made the tamales and sent them to Pablo and his sister. I was touched that he would share such a special treat with me. I warmed up two of them for dinner that night, and they were indeed quite tasty. I hope to have some again before I leave.

The rainy weather matches my mood, since some of my sunshine boarded a plane back to Nashville early this morning. Tim and I had an amazing 48 hours together. We had to make the most of it, since we lost 30 hours due to mechanical issues and staff incompetence at United Airlines. Tim was due to leave Nashville at 1 PM Friday afternoon and land in Houston at 3:30 PM, where he would catch a connecting flight to Merida at 5:04 PM and make it to the condo around 8 PM Friday. Thirty minutes before Tim was scheduled to leave Nashville, he got word that the plane he was supposed to take had been grounded in Houston with a mechanical issue. It would not arrive in Nashville until 2:30, then the crew would have to get everyone off that flight, clean the plane, and board Tim and his fellow passengers for a 3 PM departure time. Unless the flight to Merida was delayed, it was very unlikely that Tim would make his connection in Houston. The flight to Merida did get pushed back, but only by 15 minutes. They took off 15 minutes before Tim landed in Houston. A United agent got Tim booked on a Saturday morning flight to Mexico city where he would catch another plane at 3 PM to Merida. He’d land at 5 and make it to the condo by 7 PM Saturday. We were crushed that we’d be losing a whole day together. The airline put Tim up in a hotel overnight, where he had crappy hotel-restaurant pizza alone instead of dinner with me.

Not the Friday night we’d envisioned

The next morning, everything seemed to be going according to schedule. Tim made it to Mexico City without a hitch. At 2:30, I began holding my breath, waiting for Tim’s text that he was on the plane. At 3 PM, my phone rang. I knew right away it would not be good news. Tim was furious because the people at the gate had refused to let him on the plane. I’m still confused about what happened. He had a boarding pass, given to him by the agent in Houston that rebooked his flight. But because there wasn’t a ticket number on the boarding pass (to show proof of purchase I think?), the crew wouldn’t allow him to board. So Tim had to go back to United and book yet another flight. Fortunately he didn’t have to wait another day. There was a flight to Merida at 9:30 that night. Tim finally made it to the condo around 12:30 Sunday morning. We didn’t waste a single minute of our remaining time together.

As a way to stay connected during my sabbatical, Tim and I downloaded the Paired app. There are both fun quizzes to take and serious relationship questions to answer. The subscription is $13 a month, which I think is way overpriced. We’ll most likely cancel it when I get home, but we’re having fun with it right now. The separation has been more difficult for both of us this year for reasons we can’t explain. We don’t have any regrets about my being here, especially since winter 2022 in Nashville has been so nasty. As hard as it is for Tim and I to be apart, we both know that Mexico’s warmth and sunshine are what’s best for my mental health. As I’ve said since that first winter sabbatical, I’m amazed and grateful beyond words to have a husband that sacrifices his desire for us to be at home together so that I can stay sane during these winter months. On a positive note, I must say that missing each other so much made our reunion all the more sweeter. In 21 days, Tim will be here again when he returns to Chelem to spend a couple days with me before we fly back to Nashville together. I know the rest of my sabbatical will go by in a flash.